Infant feeding unit assembly

ABSTRACT

An infant feeding assembly including a nipple and a protective cap or shroud and retaining ring structure which clamps the assembly together onto the open end neck portion of a container. The protective shroud encloses the nipple during storage as well as compressing the nipple and closing the air vent holes. The assembly includes a disk for separating the product from the nipple and closure, the disk having an annular ridge on the periphery thereof to provide an effective seal when the closure is attached to seal the container. Upon release of the pressure, the annular ridge aids in separating the disk and nipple thereby releasing the vacuum within the bottle and facilitating the formation of an effective fluid flow path for the product in the container. A collar which covers the frangible connection between the shroud and retaining ring structure is provided to minimize possible injury when the shroud is removed.

United States Patent [1 1 Welch et al.

[451 Sept. 25, 1973 INFANT FEEDING UNIT ASSEMBLY Inventors: Will iam Welcli Columbus, one? Donald Evans; Ned Neely, both of Worthington, Ohio; Bruce Lockhart, West Haven, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Abbott Laboratories, Qhicago lll.

[22] Filed: Oct. 30, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 302,310

[52] U.S. Cl. 215/11 C, 215/11 B, 215/42 [51] Int. Cl. A6lj 9/00, A61j 9/08 [58] Field of Search 215/11 R, 11 C, 42, 215/11 B; 220/DIG. 21, 27

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,516,564 6/1970 Pohlenz 215/11 C 3,358,864 12/1967 Meierhoefer... 215/11 B 2,588,991 3/1952 Schellin 215/11 R Primary Examiner-Samuel B. Rothberg Assistant ExaminerAlan Eskenas Attorney-Gildo E. Fato et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT An infant feeding assembly including a nipple and a protective cap or shroud and retaining ring structure which clamps the assembly together onto the open end neck portion of a container. The protective shroud encloses the nipple during storage as well as compressing the nipple and closing the air vent holes. The assembly includes a disk for separating the product from the nipple and closure, the disk having an annular ridge on the periphery thereof to provide an effective seal when the closure is attached to seal the container. Upon release of the pressure, the annular ridge aids in separating the disk and nipple thereby releasing the vacuum within the bottle and facilitating the formation of an effective fluid flow path for the product in the container. A collar which covers the frangible connection between the shroud and retaining ring structure is provided to minimize possible injury when the shroud is removed.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures INFANT FEEDING UNIT ASSEIVIBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In order to provide a pre-sterilized infant feeding container which can be filled, sealed and sterilized by the manufacturer, a number of closure assemblies have been designed. Such pre-sterilized infant feeding containers provide a number of advantages such as, for example, eliminating the need to fill the container and sterilize each of the components prior to use. Being pre-sterilized such infant feeding containers need not be refrigerated. With such closure assemblies as employed on infant feeding containers, it is necessary to provide for separation of the liquid storage area from the nipple area during storage so that the fluid product does not leak into the nipple and hence to the closure while at the same time providing for convenient and ready access to the fluid within the container when it is desired to feed an infant. In such closure assemblies,

separation of the product area from the nipple and 010-.

sure area can be provided by means of a circular disk sealingly affixed to the open end neck portion of the bottle or contained within an annular recess inthe nipple. An example of such a closure is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,432 issued on May 2, I961. The illustrated closure is threadably engageable with the neck portion of a feeding container and hence is not tamperproof. An illustration of a tamper-proof closure of this type is contained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,817 issued on July 23, 1968. Both of these closures incorporate disks having apertures therein which, when the closure is attached to the bottle, are sealed by the nipple flange. U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,969, issued on January 6, 1970,illustrates a similar type of closure but wherein the disk is contained within an annular recess in the nipple rather than being sealed directly to the neck of the bot- 'tle. With such a structure, the disk need not contain apertures but rather may contain a series of radially extending grooves which serve to allow the fluid to pass around the disk when the unit is in the feeding position. With such closure assemblies, difficulties are sometimes encountered due to a failure of the unit to completely expose the apertures or grooves in the disk when pressure is released thereby preventing the formation of a completely effective fluid flow path for the liquid.

In the closure illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,564 issued on June 23, 1970, the nipple includes annular beads for sealing against the upper surface of a disk. While such beads aid in exposing the grooves in the disk when the closure is opened; they are difficult to form in the nipple. Some difficulty is also experienced in effecting a complete seal between the nipple and the disk.

With closures that employ a unitary protective cap which is removable from the flange portion by means of a frangible connection, generally a rupturable score line, as utilized in the closures disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,487,969 and 3,516,564; injury occasionally occurs due to the sharp edge which results along the score line. Accordingly, some means of protection from injury due to the sharp edge along the score line upon removal of the protective cap is desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a closure assembly for an infant feeding container having an improved disk structure which will provide positive release thereby insuring an effective fluid flow path upon opening of the container as well as providing an effective seal. Such a disk incorporates an annular ridge on the periphery thereof over which the nipple is resiliently flexed when the closure is attached to seal thecontainer. When thecontainer is opened, the pressure on the nipple and disk is released to a great extent so that the annular ridge urges the disk away from the nipple releasing the vacuum within the bottle and permitting the product to flow past the disk and into the nipple. The annular ridge can be provided in various forms.

With metallic disks or disks made of other resilient material, an arcuate section can be formed in the periphery thereof, which section is flexed to some extent when the closure is affixed to the bottle and acts as a spring when the pressure is released. With disks made of plastic or other inflexible materials, a bead of resilient material can be positioned around the periphery of the disk to act as a biasing means and sealing ring.

To provide protection against possible injury upon removal of the protective cap, a collar, preferably of plastic, is provided, the collar having a central opening for receiving the protective cap and being positioned to overlie the score line. Accordingly, upon removal of the protective cap by breaking the frangible connection between the cap and the retaining ring, the cap covers any resulting sharp edge along the score line and prevents contact therewith to thereby minimize the possibility of injury.

. The structures by means of which the above-noted and other advantages of the invention can be obtained are described in the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing illustrative embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 4 is a bottom elevational view of the disk of FIG. I

3 taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, in cross-section, o the protective collar.

FIG. 6 is a top elevational view of the collar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the invention is shown in which the feeding assembly or closure cap 10 is afi'ixed to a bottle or container 11. The assembly 10 includes a unitary protective shroud l3 and retaining ring structure 14, a nipple 15 disposed therein and a feeding disk 16. The bottle 11 is of essentially conventional configuration and has an open end neck portion 17 defining an annular upper edge surface 18 referred to as the bottle finish. The outer periphery of the neck portion 17 is provided with a circumferential retaining bead 19. If desired a helical screw thread having at least one complete turn around the periphery of the bottle neck 17 may be formed therein. The use of a helical screw thread or bead is determined by the type of retaining ring assembly that is used to secure or clamp the entire unit together. The unitary protective shroud 13 and clamping or retaining ring 14 assembly comprises a cylindrical cap portion 20 having a closed end 21, vertically extending side walls 22,.a horizontally extending flange portion 23 formed at the lower ends of the side walls 22 and a vertically extending annular skirt 24 terminating 'at the point of connection to the annular bead 19. The cap portion 20 is connected to the horizontally extending flange portion 22 by a rupturable score line 25 as best seen in FIG. 1.

The nipple 15 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes a teat portion 30 having one or more apertures 31 therein. The nipple 15 is hollow and comprises a vertically extending annular wall portion 32, an outwardly extending flared portion 33 and a horizontally extending flange 34. The underside of the flange 34 is seated and sealingly engaged with the upper edge surface 18 of the neck portion 17 and is retained thereon by the clamping or retaining ring 14. The horizontally extending flange portion 23 of the shroud 13 engages the upper surface of the nipple flange 34 to afiix the assembly in place. As can be best seen in FIG. 2, when the shroud 13 has been removed, the horizontally extending flange portion 34 of the nipple is provided with a vent hole 35.

Referring to the drawings, it can be seen that a circular disk 16 serves to separate the interior of the bottle 1 1 from the interior of the nipple when the assembly is in the closed position shown in FIG. 1. With closures employing an apertured disk as illustrated in US Pat. No. 3,393,817, difficulties sometimes arise in providing a completely effective fluid flow path upon opening of the unit for feeding. With such disks, particularly those employing apertures which are positioned inside the seal, vacuum release problems may result upon opening of the unit since the compressed form of the nipple must cover the openings in order to effectively separate the product from the nipple area during storage. Accordingly, the disk of the present invention is provided with an annular ridge or rib 40 on the periphery thereof which provides an effective seal when the closure is attached to the container. In the embodiment illustrated, the disk 16 is retained within an annular recess 36 in the nipple 15 and consequently, gaskets or other sealing means are not required. Likewise, apertures in the disk for flow therethrough of the liquid product are not required. To facilitate fluid flow, the disk 16 of this embodiment is provided with radially extending grooves 41. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the disk 16 is retained within an annular recess 36 in the nipple 15 so that when the nipple 15 is compressed (see FIG. 2), the disk 16 is held tightly within the recess 36 thereby providing a seal and effectively separating the product from the nipple area. As noted, the nipple 15 includes a vent hole 35 and a horizontally extending flange 34 which is seated and sealingly engaged with the finish 18 of the container 11. Additionally, the nipple 15 includes an annular lip or valve 37 which projects angularly into the container 1 1 and aids in preventing liquid from leaking through the vent hole 35 while at the same time permitting air to enter the container 11 during feeding of an infant. The sealing disk 16 (as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4) includes a raised central portion 42 to assist in centering the disk 16 within the nipple 15 as well as radially extending grooves 41 for the flow of fluid therethrough as previously described. To provide an effective seal between the nipple 15 and the disk 16 and thereby prevent product contained within the container 11 from leaking into the teat portion 30 of the nipple 15 during storage, an annular ridge 40 is provided on the periphery 43 of the disk 16. Upon opening of the closure 10, the annular ridge 40, being of a greater height than the grooves 41, also aids in separating the disk 16 from the nipple 15 when it is contained within the annular recess 36 in the nipple 15. (see FIG. 2) Flow of fluid from within the container 11 through the grooves 41 in the disk 16 and into the nipple 15 is thereby facilitated. To further ensure separation of the disk 16 from the nipple 15, a plurality of bumpers 38 can be disposed or formed within the annular recess 36 in the nipple 15, as can be seen in FIG. 2. When the closure 10 is opened, the bumpers 38 likewise keep the disk 16 away from the nipple 15 so that product can flow up into the nipple 15. The complete assembly 10 includes a unitary protective shroud 13 and retaining ring 14 structure with a frangible connection 25 which clamps the assembly 10, including the disk 16 together during storage. On opening of the unit by removal of the shroud 13 a fluid flow path is provided for the liquid product. A flat disk would tend to adhere to the rubber nipple 15 when the pressure is released thereby preventing the formation of a fluid flow path. Accordingly, an annular ridge 40 is provided around the periphery 43 of the disk 16 in the manner described. To provide an effective seal, the ridge 40 is formed continuously around the periphery 43 of the disk 16. Upon removal of the protective cap or shroud 13, a sharp edge may result along the frangible connection or score line 25. To minimize the possibility of injury upon opening of the closure 10, a protective collar 50 is positioned on the closure assembly 10 to cover the frangible connection 25 while at the same time permitting removal of the shroud 13. The collar 50 comprises a cap 51 having a depending skirt 52, the top 53 including a horizontal flange portion 54 with a centrally disposed opening 55 therein through which fits the protective shroud 13. The collar 50 can be made by injection molding a high density polyethylene material preferably with a wall thickness to provide a rigid structure since a rigid device can be easily fed and applied to the closure assembly 10 at production speeds. The collar 50 fits tightly in engagement with the shroud 13 which projects through the centrally disposed opening 55 in the top 53 of the collar 50, the depending skirt 52 of the collar 50 fitting on the skirt 24 of the closure 10 and the horizontal flange portion 54 overlying the frangible connection 25. When the closure 10 is. opened by removing the shroud 13, the collar 50 remains attached to the shroud 13 of the closure 10 and thereby protects the user from coming into contact with any sharp edges or projections which may result along the edge of the shroud'l3.

To compensate for different shrinkage values from lot to lot of plastic, which may affect the tightness of the collar 50 on the closure 10, several cut-outs 56 or relief points can be formed in the top 53 of the collar 50. The collar 50 can be applied to the closure 10 by means of conventional equipment comprising an ori enting device, part chute and cam down device.

In use, when the unit is in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, the protective shroud is secured to the clamping ring by frangible connections and compresses and restrains the nipple structure against the finish and the outer periphery on the bottle neck in such a manner as to fill all recesses and seal the entire unit from any leakage of fluid. In the embodiment illustrated, the annular recess 36 which is provided on the inner surface of the nipple to contain and seat the sealing disk 16 is compressed against the disk 16 and its grooves 41 to prevent fluid from flowing around the disk 16 and into the upper portion of the hollow nipple 15. The compression of the shroud onto the nipple and its retention by the retaining ring closes the vent holes and compresses the annular shoulder against the bottle finish to insure complete sealing of the unit for storage.

To ready the assembly for use, the shroud is deformed enough to sever it from the connection and it is removed from the bottle to expose the nipple. When this occurs the nipple expands to the feeding position shown in FIG. 2. This allows fluid to pass through the hollow portion of the nipple to the feeding aperture. As the infant draws the fluid from the bottle, air will pass through the vent holes to the recess or gap between the bottle neck s outer periphery and the undersurface of the nipple flange. The air admitted through the vents will pass over the bottle finish through the grooves or apertures and into the interior of the bottle to replace the volume of fluid which has been removed during the feeding process.

What is claimed is:

1. An infant feeding assembly adapted to be sealingly secured to the neck of a feeding container having a top finish surface, said assembly comprising; a nipple, said nipple including a teat portion having one or more apertures therein, a vertically extending annular wall portion, a horizontally extending flange adapted to be seated and sealingly engaged with the finish of the container, and a vent opening disposed in said horizontally extending flange; a disk positioned to separate the container from the interior of the nipple when the assembly is in the closed position, said disk including radially extending grooves adapted to provide a fluid flow path for the liquid within the container when the assembly is opened for feeding; and means for securing said nipple and disk to and in sealing engagement with said container neck and capable of being released to permit air to flow through said vent opening in the nipple and fluid to flow through the openings in the disk and into the nipple, said means for securing the nipple and disk to the container comprising a unitary protective shroud and retaining ring structure, the protective shroud being connected to the retaining ring by a frangible connection, the improvement comprising:

an annular ridge in the periphery of said disk to provide an efiective seal when the shroud and retaining ring structure is attached to the container to seal the container; and

a collar positioned on the retaining ring and in engagement with the shroud, said collar comprising a cap having a depending skirt for engagement with the retaining ring and a top including a horizontal flange portion having a centrally disposed opening therein through which projects the shroud, the horizontal flange portion overlying the frangible connection between the shroud and retaining ring structure to thereby prevent contact with any sharp edges which may result upon opening said assembly.

2. The infant feeding assembly of claim 1 wherein the annular ridge is formed continuously around the periphery of the disk.

3. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 wherein the disk includes a raised central portion to assist in centering the disk within the nipple.

4. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 including a plurality of bumpers formed within the annular recess in the nipple and projecting toward the disk to aid in separation of the disk from the nipple when the assembly is opened for feeding.

5. The infant feeding assembly of claim 4 wherein the bumpers are formed in the underside of the top surface of the annular recess in the nipple, projecting toward the disk.

6. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 wherein the centrally disposed opening in the top of the collar includes a plurality of cut-outs in the horizontal flange portion to provide relief points when the collar is applied to the assembly. 

1. An infant feeding assembly adapted to be sealingly secured to the neck of a feeding container having a top finish surface, said assembly comprising: a nipple, said nipple including a teat portion having one or more apertures therein, a vertically extending annular wall portion, a horizontally extending flange adapted to be seated and sealingly engaged with the finish of the container, and a vent opening disposed in said horizontally extending flange; a disk positioned to separate the container from the interior of the nipple when the assembly is in the closed position, said disk including radially extending grooves adapted to provide a fluid flow path for the liquid within the container when the assembly is opened for feeding; and means for securing said nipple and disk to and in sealing engagement with said container neck and capable of being released to permit air to flow through said vent opening in the nipple and fluid to flow through the openings in the disk and into the nipple, said means for securing the nipple and disk to the container comprising a unitary protective shroud and retaining ring structure, the protective shroud being connected to the retaining ring by a frangible connection, the improvement comprising: an annular ridge in the periphery of said disk to provide an effective seal when the shroud and retaining ring structure is attached to the container to seal the container; and a collar positioned on the retaining ring and in engagement with the shroud, said collar comprising a cap having a depending skirt for engagement with the retaining ring and a top including a horizontal flange portion having a centrally disposed opening therein through which projects the shroud, the horizontal flange portion overlying the frangible connection between the shroud and retaining ring structure to thereby prevent contact with any sharp edges which may result upon opening said assembly.
 2. The infant feeding assembly of claim 1 wherein the annular ridge is formed continuously around the periphery of the disk.
 3. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 wherein the disk includes a raised central portion to assist in centering the disk within the nipple.
 4. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 including a plurality of bumpers formed within the annular recess in the nipple and projecting toward the disk to aid in separation of the disk from the nipple when the assembly is opened for feeding.
 5. The infant feeding assembly of claim 4 wherein the bumpers are formed in the underside of the top surface of the annular recess in the nipple, projecting toward the disk.
 6. The infant feeding assembly of claim 2 wherein the centrally disposed opening in the top of the collar includes a plurality of cut-outs in the horizontal flange portion to provide relief points when the collar is applied to the assembly. 